


Denouement

by notjustmom



Series: Pepperony [6]
Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Avengers, Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Happy Ending, Not Canon Compliant, Wedding, questionable timeline as always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-10 00:03:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18648844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: "...I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;so I love you because I know no other way than this:where I does not exist, nor you,so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. ”-Pablo Neruda, One Hundred Love Sonnets, XVII





	1. Tony and Harley

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> This is a gift work for Fangirl_Goon_Squad... she asked for a complete, happy, fluffy wedding, so this takes place instead of the other ceremony, and everyone is there. Their first wedding was a very small ceremony, just the two of them, witnessed by Happy and Rhodey, when Tony returned from Titan. So they are renewing their vows after everyone made it home in one piece, more or less, after the final battle with Thanos.

"No more panic attacks?" Harley asked, as Tony sat down next to him on the porch and looked out over the lake.

"Only occasionally," Tony admitted with a roll of his eyes.

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah, not too bad. How's school?"

"School's school. Have to decide about college."

"Where are ya thinkin'?"

"Yer alma mater of course, could do worse. Don't know if I could match your pranks though, might need to find a place where I don't have to compete -"

"You know, that chip on your shoulder -" Tony muttered quietly.

"I know. It's not that easy though, how long did it take you?"

"I was 43." Tony squinted at the sky, as the colors changed slowly from indigo to a pale melon. "I think you'll have it figured out long before that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Tony ruffled his hair and they sat quietly together as the lake began to come to life in front of them. "I'm really happy you could be here today, with all our connectedness and all."

Harley snorted and rubbed at his nose. "You remember everything."

"Pretty much."

"This is a good thing. Today."

"Yeah, yeah it is kiddo."

 

Pepper opened the screen door and announced, "breakfast, boys, come on in, before the good seats get taken, and Thor eats all the pancakes."

Tony turned and glanced up at her, and smiled. "Be there in a minute, Ms. Potts."


	2. Tony and Clint

"Hell." Tony opened the hood on the riding mower and shook his head.

"Need a hand?" Clint asked a bit sheepishly.

"Got any extra spark plugs? I forgot to get some when I was at the store last week." He studied Clint's face and waited.

"I owe you -"

"Nope."

"Tony. If you hadn't, I -"

"Look, you would have done the same, in my place."

"But, I -"

"You know what I think? I think when Loki was in your head, or more accurately, the mind stone was in your head, it left something behind - we all, every single one of us made mistakes, Legolas, some of us more than others, and yet, in spite of everything, we are still here. I think all the good we did, outweighs the crap, and it's up to you to let it go. Nat needs you to let it go, Laura and your kids need you to forgive yourself." He shrugged and looked around. "Every morning when I wake up in my own bedroom, and my kid jumps on me to get up to make her cereal, and the biggest decision I have to make is what t-shirt to wear - I don't have room, or time for what happened in the past, Clint. I wasted way too much time thinking about the past, trying to fix stuff that couldn't be fixed. It's done. It's time -"

"Shellhead's become a philosopher." Clint grinned at him, then looked away when he met Tony's gaze.

"Nah, I'm just a survivor, Princess Zelda, and I've decided to believe that I was meant to be here now, in this place. We are here for a reason, Clint, it's time for you to stop apologizing for stuff and get on with it. You know what? Fuck it. My third executive decision this morning is to not mow the yard. Coffee?"

"Yeah, coffee sounds good."


	3. Nat and Pepper

"What is it?" Natasha asked Pepper as she fussed at her hair.

"I'm not sure now is the right time for this."

"Are you kidding? Did you see him at breakfast? I've never seen him like that. You deserve today, Pepper, it was because of us that you didn't get the wedding he wanted you to have in the first place."

"Nat - no -"

"Yeah, it's true, and you know it. Today is - look, everybody made it, I still don't even know how, but we are home, and we need to throw you and Tony the biggest party we can manage, Morgan needs to know how much family she has, as weird and messed up as we are, she needs to know we love her and you and her dad. So, stop fussing, you look perfect."

"Are you sure?"

"Seriously? Pepper, the last, how long have you known him -"

"Twenty years, more or less."

Nat stared down at her. "Damn, you deserve combat pay, I had no idea."

"Long story."

"You really must love him, then," she whispered, then covered her mouth as she realized that she had said it loud enough for Pepper to hear.

Pepper looked down at her hands and muttered, "from the minute I met him, Nat. From the first time he grinned at me, yeah."

"He's -" Nat was going to say that Tony was a lucky guy, but stopped herself in time.

"He's everything, Nat. I know he can be -"

Nat snorted and nodded, "a major pain in the -"

"Mommmmm!" Morgan was at the door, in the flower girl dress she had been wearing since five that morning. She had been awake at three, but had made a deal with her father to stay in bed until five. Pepper was still unsure what deal had been made, as she had slept through the ruckus.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Daddy's pacing."

Pepper sighed, then looked up at Nat and shook her head. "Tell him we'll be out in 35 seconds."

"35, 34, 33, 32..." Morgan counted backward as she bounced from the room.

"She's -"

"Her father's daughter. From the minute she was born, Nat. Thank you for bringing him home."

"There was no other way, Pepper. I promised, remember?"


	4. Nebula and Tony

"Stark?"

Tony turned from the mirror and found Nebula hesitating at the doorway of the workshop. "Hey, Nebula."

She walked into the room and helped him with his tie.

"Nice, where did you learn that?"

"Probably best if you didn't know."

"Right." He looked into her eyes and saw something he wasn't sure he could define. "You know, I wouldn't be here without you. None of us would be, so thank you."

She narrowed her eyes at him and cleared her throat. "Family is everything. You have given me my family back and I have friends for the first time in my life. I will never be able to repay you for that."

Tony shook his head and wrapped his good arm around her. "I think we should call it even, yeah? Do you have the ring?"

"Of course. I am not an idiot."

"No, no, you are not, you are one of the most brilliant beings I know. I'm just nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about."

Tony grinned at her. "I don't?"

"You have a wife and daughter who love you, and friends who adore you. You are a very lucky man, Stark."

He blinked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, Nebula, I am at that." He looked at his watch and sighed, "four minutes..."

"Just breathe, and you will be fine."

"You know that, hmm?"

"I do, Stark."

"Then let's get this party started."


	5. Tony

He stood at his assigned spot, trying not to fidget, and decided to focus instead on the people gathered there in front of him, the Pyms and Scott and his daughter were all there together, without that odd crew - damn, none of them could have -

"Tony?" Strange's voice brought him back to the present and he met the Sorcerer's worried glance.

"I'm fine, Doc. Just trying not to think of all the things that might not have - damnnn." He couldn't help but chuckle as everyone sighed out loud as Morgan all but flew down the steps of the porch, flinging flower petals over everyone, then stopped suddenly and raced over to Nat and Steve who had saved her a seat between them. Uncle Rogers, she had dubbed him; he was no longer Cap as he had handed over the shield and responsibilities over to Sam before he had left to replace the stones, only to return with Nat five seconds later. There was something right about them, though he had wondered briefly if he would have stayed with Peggy after their one dance. He had to smile as he recalled what Steve had said when they had a private moment, "Peggy was my first love, but when I saw Nat waiting there for me on Vormir, I knew where my heart belonged, I don't even know when I realized it, maybe it was losing her, I don't know." 

All Tony could think to say was, "makes sense." And it did, as he saw Steve gaze at Nat shyly, then laugh at something she said. The two of them, the super spy and the retired super hero made perfect sense in a completely messed up world. He drew in a sharp breath as Pepper seemed to float towards him, and her bright blue eyes sparkled at him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. She always did, before he even thought a thought, she seemed to always be a second ahead. Damn, he loved her.

"Language," Steve snorted, and he realized he'd swore out loud. He rolled his eyes at Rogers, and tried to cough to cover his laughter but failed miserably. 

Pepper was at his side, a gentle hand on his arm, and a whispered, "breathe, it's okay," helped him find his balance again.

"Hey, Ms. Potts."

"Mr. Stark." He knew they didn't need to do this for each other, ever since - ever since he had returned from Afghanistan, he had known what she meant to him, and he knew how fiercely and just how bravely she returned his love. There was no sign of doubt in her eyes, as she took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently, then turned her focus on Stephen.

"We are here. That is what matters the most," Strange began. "The universe works in mysterious ways, and I'm still not completely sure how everything unfolded as it did, but I think a big reason was the love that all of you have for Tony and Pepper and Morgan. I don't have official standing here, but when Tony asked me to be here today, to say a few words before they renewed their vows before all of you, I found I couldn't refuse his request." Tony waited for Peter to pipe up with something about the Godfather saga, but when he didn't hear the teenager's voice behind him, he turned and caught Peter smiling at him, and was reminded once again of how much he could have lost, then he smiled back and returned his attention to Stephen.

"Tony, you wanted to speak first?"

He nodded, then turned to face Pepper and cleared his throat. "Pep. When I was captured in Afghanistan, you gave me a reason to keep fighting, so I could come home to you; all I could hear was your voice telling me not to give up. Ever since then, your love has brought me home every single time, even when the odds were stacked against it. You have given me everything, you are my light, my heart, my reason for breathing, especially on those days when it would be easier not to. As someone told me a little while ago, I am a lucky man. Every morning when you smile at me as I open my eyes, I am reminded just how lucky. We were married five years ago today, I should have married you the minute I landed back on Earth, but as most people here are aware, I have an allergy to appearing not fully in control of a situation, so I asked you to wait just until I could stand on my own in front of you, and Happy and Rhodey and tell you how much I love you.

Today, I wanted to include our family -" He turned again toward the uncharacteristically silent gathering of the people who meant the most to him and tried to stop the tears from sliding down his cheek but failed, then whispered, "our odd, but remarkable band of extraordinary people, who have fought by my side, and allowed me to return home from this final mission. I wanted you all here so you knew how very important all of you are to the three of us, but especially to me; my life would have been so much less without every single one of you, and I am so very happy to have all of you here." 

He watched Steve's face try not to do that thing it did when he felt something strongly, then Nat got up from her chair and knelt in front of him, took his hands in hers, then whispered, "it's okay, Steve."

He nodded then rose from his seat and slowly walked over to him, wrapped his arms around him and murmured at his ear, "I'm very happy that you are here too, where you belong. Thank you for having my back, Stark."

Tony rested his head against his shoulder and muttered back, "it was an honor, Cap."


	6. Pepper

Pepper waited until Steve whispered 'sorry' to her, then sat back down next to Morgan, and she took Tony's hand. "I had memorized a poem for you, it was exactly what you've always meant to me, but they weren't my words, and I need you to hear me today. I fell in love with you the first time you caught my eye and smiled at me. I had my degrees, I had been warned, by everyone I knew, who you were, so I was prepared to do my job, and that was it. Problem was my heart had other ideas. 

I can't tell you how many times I wish I could have told you just to stop. To stop being Iron Man, to stop needing to be the one who had to fix everything, essentially I wanted you to stop being you so I could have you safe, and alive next to me. But you have always been Iron Man, even before you were held in Afghanistan, before you put on the first armor. Every once in a while, you let me see behind the walls you had built for yourself, and I saw you, the real you, not the 'genius, billionaire, philanthropist, playboy,' but you, the person who became who you are now, a husband and father, friend and mentor to so many here today, and yes, you were and will always be the armor around our planet, whether you ever put on the suit again or not. Today, I promise once again, as I did five years ago, when you could barely stand, to love, and honor and cherish you as I always have, with everything I am and will always be."

She slipped the new ring she had made for him, a simple titanium band inscribed with '3000' on the inside, onto his finger, then held his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles softly, and shook her head as the tears rolled freely down his face. She kissed his forehead, then cleared her throat and announced, "Cheeseburgers! We need Cheeseburgers - Steve, we need to start up the grills."

Steve nodded, kissing Natasha as he got up from his chair and headed to the other side of the house where he found Sam and Bucky already starting up the three enormous grills. He wondered at the wisdom of the two of them working together, but watched them grumble at each other, and was reminded of how he and Stark had started so many years ago, and knew they would be just fine. He shook his head and turned only to run into Bruce, Thor and Quill arguing about something, as always, and once again he knew things were exactly as they were supposed to be.

 

Tony looked up from his workstation as he heard the telltale sounds of Morgan sized footprints quietly make their way down the stairs, then she settled on the third step from the bottom. "Why are you up?"

"Can't sleep. Thinking about something."

"Hmm... what could you possibly be thinking about?" He walked over to her and knelt down, then picked her up in his left arm and sighed as she settled against his shoulder.

"Guess."

"Let me see, could it be a juice pop? Grape?"

"You are a genius, Daddy."

"I have my moments, Maguna Petra. Love you tons."

She snuggled closer and whispered, "love you 3,000."

"Wow, 3,000, hmmm?" He kissed her hair and looked up to see Pepper standing in front of him, smiling as she always did when he was spoiling their daughter. He rolled his eyes but waited until Morgan had fallen back to sleep, then carried her back up to her room, tucked her back into bed, then leaned over her and kissed her forehead. "Love you, 3,000 and 1."


End file.
